Frankenstein's Höllenmonster (1974)

The Film

By
the 1970s, the writing was on the wall for Hammer studios, their
traditional horror-fare was no longer popular with the audiences - the
Americans was wanted realistic and modern while the Europeans
wanted sexy and gory. While Hammer brought Dracula kicking and screaming into 20th century England with Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1974) they wisely kept the Frankenstein franchise in 19th century Middle-Europe.

We
open on a dark night, a lonely man (Patrick Troughton) is robbing
graves. Escaping from a police officer he takes the body to a doctor in
a hidden laboratory, but this is not Frankenstein, rather, one of his
followers, Doctor Simon Helder (Shane Briant). The policeman tracks
down the bodysnatcher, who leads him to Helder. The doctor is duly
tried and sentenced to five years in an insane asylum, where the late
Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) had once been committed, but it is
not long before we find the Baron is alive and well and up to his old
tricks, working with impunity inside the asylum. Hiring Helder as his
assistant, the Baron, calling himself Doctor Karl Victor, is once again
attempting to assemble a creature (David Prowse) from the parts of
his patients, trying to create a being with the body of a
strongman, the brain of a genius and the hands of a craftsman. He
succeeds, at first; but the creature is confused and soon becomes
violent...

While the Dracula
films were becoming stale and repetitive, with the inimitable count
making mere cameo appearances, the Frankenstein films became better
towards the end of their run, Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell topping even the previous entry, Frankenstein Must be Destroyed (1969) for its brutality, gore and oppressively dark atmosphere.

The
script, from experienced Hammer writer Anthony Hinds (under his pen
name of John Elder) is very clever and succeeds in avoiding repetition
from previous entries. It does not directly follow on from any of the
other films in the series, the Baron has burnt hands - although whether
from the climactic fires in Evil of Frankenstein (1964) or Frankenstein Must be Destroyed
(1969) we do not know, and the reference to the Baron's books and
lectures is at odds with the previous films where Frankenstein either
worked alone or was universally loathed and forced into hiding. After his sadistic streak
in Frankenstein Must be Destroyed (1969), the Baron has softened slightly, at one point proudly declaring 'I am not a murderer',
but he is still not past manipulating people, and using blackmail to
get his own way. The film moves along at a good pace and the plot
keeps you guessing. The climax is actually very tense and scary,
certainly a first for Hammer's Frankenstein series and the film's
conclusion wraps up the series nicely.

Directing his first film since Frankenstein Must be Destroyed
(1969), and working on his final film, Terence Fisher gives a typically
strong directorial turn to proceedings. A mix of lengthy tracking shots
and even a few zooms generally works well, although his zoom in on
Peter Cushing in his first scene is cut short far too quickly to a very
jarring side shot. Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell is
unquestionably the darkest film in the series, the majority of the film
playing out in the dark, dank interior of the asylum - the impressive
set design and lighting captures this well, the climactic storm looks
fantastic. In a last ditch attempt to retain viewers, Hammer upped the
gore quota considerably, and the film includes brain and eyeball
surgery and well as some stolen hands and a brutal
hanging. Fortunately the special effects team managed to keep the
gore on the realistic side, and indeed much of it is disturbingly
realistic. Strangely, despite the prevalence of nudity in Hammer's
vampire films, there is no skin on display in this picture. James
Bernard gives another standout score, especially evocative is his
repetition of a violin theme played by one of the inmates who would
unwillingly donate his brain to the creation. The design of the
creature has often been criticized, but although the heavy facial
make-up gives David Prowse little chance to act facially, he still gets
a chance to show off some good body acting - the move away from the
pure humanoid creations in the previous two films, to a true monster design gives this film a new edge, and also allows for a plausibly scary climax.

Peter
Cushing gives yet another stand-out performance as Victor Frankenstein.
Looking very gaunt and tired, he still displays an impressive range
including a dramatic fight with his creation. Again he manages to avoid
pushing the Baron into the realms of comic book evil, and instead
remains calm, chilling and calculated. Shane Briant gives a very good
performance, at times playing like a younger version of the Baron
himself, although with the handicap of a conscience. David Prowse
doesn't get much chance to show off any facial acting, under a large
layer of make-up, but he does a nice turn with some body acting,
and his impressive frame brings credence to his violent nature. The
rest of the cast, from the sadistic gaolers to the mute assistant girl
known as Angel play their parts well.

Often overlooked in favour of Frankenstein Must be Destroyed (1969), and the impressive first entry, Curse of Frankenstein (1957); Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell is
actually a very good film with a great script, a wonderfully dark,
atmospheric setting, boosted by a good performance by all concerned. A
fitting end to the series and a recommended film that would stand quite
well if watched alone.

Photogallery, automatically scrolling series of lobby stills and production photos - 2m 47s, to soundtrack music.

World of Hammer: Peter Cushing
- an collection of clips from Cushing's Hammer films, narrated by
Oliver Reed, but lacking any insight or particular information about
the films or the actor. English, optional German subs. 24m 52s

Easter
Egg: Bizarre Holsten Pills advert with a young Griff Rhys Jones and
footage of Peter Cushing from an unknown film. 0m 29s.

Booket: 6 pages of text, German language.

Region

Region 2 - PAL

Other regions?

R1 USA Paramount -
includes exclusive audio commentary but cut version. R2
DD Video UK, includes a scene missing from the R1 version, but still
missing several shots from the German disc. The disc includes the Frankenstein
World of Hammer episode, a detailed booklet and the US trailer. The
print used, aside from the cut scenes, is identical to the German disc. (Available in the Peter Cushing Collection boxset).

Cuts?

Approximately 40 frames (1.6 seconds) of a stabbing scene is missing, presumed lost. Print used is English language.This
is the fullest print of the film available, other DVDs use prints
missing some of the most gory scenes. The additional scenes in this
print, are of the
same good quality, and do not stand-out visually or audibly.

Summary

This strong, often overlooked
film ranks as the one of the best in the series with a clever script,
good cast, and solid production.

A good DVD release and best way to see the uncut print of the film.
Sadly lacking the audio commentary from the
US disc or the booklet from the UK disc, and most of the other extras
are of no use to non-German speakers. Recommended at the moment, but
likely to be bettered in future UK or US releases.